Guest guest Posted August 1, 2010 Report Share Posted August 1, 2010 Hello, I have another child with Down syndrome that is not diagnosed with Autism (we have 4 adopted children with Downs) but she is meaner than a wet hen!! Slapping, spitting, kicking, pulling hair..this is all to her teachers and her baby sitter! She does not act this way for me or her father. We have taken her to a behavioral health center and they put her on Risperdal (not sure on that spelling) and she is on straterra. Nothing they do or we do has stopped her. They help that comes into my home can not discipline her in the way her father and I are able because they are state workers. So we are not around she thinks anything is fair game. Anyone have any idea? Any type of medication that helps behavioral out bursts? Lee Ann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 1, 2010 Report Share Posted August 1, 2010 Consider getting her off the meds and using ABA. (read about it online) and do not let others interact with her that provoke the behavior. Homeschool if you have to. She has Down syndrome, which is overexpression of the genes (both the good and the bad genes). Maybe you could sit in on a few classes for a week with her. If she starts to hit, you grab her hands and firmly say, " no " while shaking your head and showing displeasure. After the third time, you remove her from the class or situation and say, " Don't hit. You are in time out. " (Do not give her any attention in time out. One minute for every year of age. And you sit with her.) > > > > Hello, > > I have another child with Down syndrome that is not diagnosed with Autism > (we have 4 adopted children with Downs) but she is meaner than a wet hen!! > > Slapping, spitting, kicking, pulling hair..this is all to her teachers and > her baby sitter! She does not act this way for me or her father. We have > taken her to a behavioral health center and they put her on Risperdal (not > sure on that spelling) and she is on straterra. Nothing they do or we do > has stopped her. > > They help that comes into my home can not discipline her in the way her > father and I are able because they are state workers. So we are not around > she thinks anything is fair game. > > Anyone have any idea? Any type of medication that helps behavioral out > bursts? > > > > Lee Ann > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 1, 2010 Report Share Posted August 1, 2010 Hi Lee Ann: Has anyone done Functional Behavior Analysis? Using the theory that all behavior is communication, a good behaviorist will be able to determine what provokes the slapping, spitting, kicking and other behaviors. That will help you determine the best response to this behavior. I'm not sure what you are doing that the state workers are not allowed to do but there needs to be an approach or a consequence that everyone who works with her can implement. Every good behavior program needs this kind of consistency. Medication cannot replace a good behavior program, it can only be a supportive part of it. Both of my children with DS are adopted as well. In reading your post, beyond the practical need to do a Functional Behavior Analysis, I wonder about attachment issues. My younger son was adopted at 2 years 11 months, the neuropsychologist who evaluated him said he looked like every child she had ever seen come out of a Romanian orphanage. He DID NOT come out of a Romanian orphanage but he was pathologically neglected by birth mother and then by the foster family. It is clear to me that sometimes his issues are related to those early years. We can say he is on the spectrum for Reactive Attachment Disorder, we can call it Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, it doesn't matter to me. What matters is that we are very gentle yet very firm, very structured and very consistent with him when he is in that kind of emotional space. For me, reading about attachment issues helped greatly. Lori Mom to Isaac 13, and Tony 11 _____ From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Lee Ann Sent: Sunday, August 01, 2010 10:52 AM To: Subject: Violence Hello, I have another child with Down syndrome that is not diagnosed with Autism (we have 4 adopted children with Downs) but she is meaner than a wet hen!! Slapping, spitting, kicking, pulling hair..this is all to her teachers and her baby sitter! She does not act this way for me or her father. We have taken her to a behavioral health center and they put her on Risperdal (not sure on that spelling) and she is on straterra. Nothing they do or we do has stopped her. They help that comes into my home can not discipline her in the way her father and I are able because they are state workers. So we are not around she thinks anything is fair game. Anyone have any idea? Any type of medication that helps behavioral out bursts? Lee Ann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 1, 2010 Report Share Posted August 1, 2010 Hi Lori, Thanks so much for your response. Our daughter was in foster care until she was 2 months old. A month later she was in the hospital and had open heart surgery. It took a while before I was able to hold her again. She was in the hospital for about a month. Even at that young age I know there is a possibility of attachment issues now. We have a behaviorist coming tomorrow to see 3 of my kids. She will do her observations for several days and then make her suggestions and write up a plan. Thanks so much! Lee Ann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 1, 2010 Report Share Posted August 1, 2010 H , What you have said makes me wonder if I should just get her off of the meds. Maybe just to see how she does. It has been 2 years of trial and error and nothing is working well. You have some good ideas. Lee Ann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 1, 2010 Report Share Posted August 1, 2010 My plan with meds to see if they worked was to always stop them on a vacation or holiday from school, return Elie to school med free and see if the teacher noticed a difference. Same thing with starting meds - we started on vacation or holidays and didn't EVER tell the teacher, but waited for the teacher to notify us that there was a difference. Unfortunately, that rarely happened. For us, meds were pretty ineffectual. > > > H , > What you have said makes me wonder if I should just get her off of the > meds. Maybe just to see how she does. It has been 2 years of trial and error > and nothing is working well. > You have some good ideas. > Lee Ann > > > -- Sara- different pathways lead to Nirvana. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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